Samy Vellu – The Man Who is Afraid of Change?

If you’ve read today’s paper, another funny incident had happened again. Datuk M. Muthupalaniappan, MIC’s former Vice-President, a person who wants to compete with Datuk Seri Samy Vellu for the MIC’s Presidential post was sacked.

As usual, as we constantly read in the papers, this is another sign that Samy Vellu is afraid of change, fear that after he relinquished his seat of power, he will be a nobody anymore. Why is he fearing that the same fate will fall upon him just like the way he lost his Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in the March 8, 2008 polls? What is he so afraid to change? Is he planning to remain as the Party President until the day he dies? Lim Keng Yeik, former President of Gerakan retired in 2007. Rafidah Aziz, longest serving civil servant for 32 years, will be retiring in June 2009. Dr. Mahathir, left in 2003. Now Abdullah is retiring this year too. So what is he waiting for?

With Muthupalaniappan out of the way, Samy Vellu would definitely win the post unopposed for the 11th time. That is unless someone would just pop out of no where at the last minute to challenge him which I doubt would happen. Any competitors that he felt would come between him and his post would have been dealt with. Anyone wanting to compete against Samy needs at the minimum, 50 nominations from MIC’s 4,000 branches to qualify. and was confident he could garner three times that number. Datuk M. Muthupalaniappan was confident that he could get that number.

I do wonder whether Samy Vellu would still be able to gather that number of votes to compete or not if he was challenged for the top post. Does he still think, in his own little world, that he is still the Malaysian Indian community’s champion? I don’t know how the higher level of political play works but Samy sure isn’t giving anyone a fair chance to create a change and bring MIC out of the slum it suffered in the general election. A clear sign that people want changed happened last year, everyone that lost in that election owned up to their own failure in winning in their own respective contest. For Samy, I think in his own heart, he believed that everyone made a mistake for not letting him win in Sungai Siput.

Despite the massive polls losses Samy Vellu, who has been president since 1979, is seeking re-election for a 11th term and hopes to win and continue as president for another three-year term. However, if you talk to the grassroots, in fact, even the non party members out there, would say that Samy Vellu’s time has already passed and should just retire instead of hanging on to his own little world.

The MIC needs new blood in their heirachy of leaders, Samy Vellu’s ideas of reforms and rebranding are outdated! I think just like MCA and GERAKAN (I can’t say UMNO cause they still live in their own world too) The number 1 reform agenda that the MIC shoud look into is band all their grassroots together and pressure him to step down, for the better of the indian community and Malaysians at large. If you feel that is the wrong thing for MIC’s grassroot members to do, do tell me why.

No other challenger besides Muthupalaniappan is likely to challenge him  for the President post as the two potential contestants – deputy-president Datuk G. Palanivel and former deputy president Datuk S.Subramaniam – don’t want to upset the apple cart but want to wait for Samy Vellu to hand over to either one of them when the time comes. Which, I doubt will happen any time soon. What do you think? Will he ever step down from being the Party President? Why do you think he does not want to retire from being the MIC President?

Here, I leave you with one of his famous quotes:

This is my party! It’s my way or the highway!

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